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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Sport Developer: EA Sports Publisher: Electronic Arts |
Every year sports fans await the release of the latest NCAA Football game more than Madden. This is because the fast paced action of
able to stand up against the Madden series, however this year brings a solid offering with “NCAA Football 10,” but it still isn’t anything
that will exceed player expectations.
For many players, the most important part of a sports game is the game play value. A large amount of what has changed in this year’s
game makes the game more accessible and in many cases a lot easier to play. One of the best additions to the game, the setup play,
also makes it more likely that players will win nearly every game. Setup plays are nothing new to the game of football and this new
function makes it all transparent in “NCAA Football 10.” While it is a nice little feature that many players might ignore, it is the
transparency that makes play calling more entertaining.
There are some other improvements to the game play, such as a brand new set of animations which help give players a better feel to
the game. There is more realistic actions this time around, even if the overall visuals haven’t changed much since last year. A lot of the
game play changes are very subtle and can be seen in as the AI adapts to the player’s play style, angles of attack are better and players
can actually see the pocket this time around. It is much more refined than last year’s release and one of Electronic Arts better football
game on the next generation console.
The one thing that hasn’t changed in this new release of the game is the fact that there is still a presence of bugs in the game. Players
will be able to see some players bounce around on the field at times. When players have the game randomize names for players, they
may end up with a player that has a number for a name, but that doesn’t seem too odd with today’s NFL players. These bugs come
and go, some players may experience them often, while others may never seen any bugs in the game. It is these issues that may
frustrate players a little bit, but it won’t be enough to pull hardcore fans away from the series.
There is one other major change this year in the game play that can’t be ignored. This year there is a “win” button on defense. If
players hold it down, their defender takes the proper position, and if the man he is covering blocks instead of running a route, the win
button knows to attack the running back. Another new option is Family Play, which simplifies offense and defense by removing all of the
complicated buttons and brings it down to a single button to almost every action in the game. If these options don’t help the player to be
successful in a game, there are plenty of other options that can be adjusted in order to quickly give players an edge to defeat the
computer opponent. Of course, any players that are looking for a challenge won’t want to worry themselves with these options, but
anyone that wants to begin training their children for the future of the NCAA Football series will appreciate these available adjustments.
The other two majors feature additions that are completely new to the series. They are great additions that players will want to see in
the future. TeamBuilder lets players create their own team. This is nothing new to sports games but players have a level customization
that goes above and beyond that of other games. This is all possible because of the fact that the teambuilding function was removed
from the console and put on the PC. This means that players have to access a free website in order to create their team, but doing this
is much easier than using the controller to create a team.
Players are also able to create their own custom logos for use in the game. Full uniform customization is also available, as well as the
ability to create any player they want. Create-A-Player is also build into the game and doesn’t require the use of a PC, but it is a lot
faster to type in names with a keyboard and navigates a PC menu than it is slowly building a player with a controller.
The other new feature is very exciting, Season Showdown Mode, which captures the passion of college football. Players get to pick one
team to be their team for an entire season. Players much pick wisely because once they pick there is no going back. Once a team has
been selected, players are part of a season long tournament to see which team can earn the most points. Whatever mode players play
in, they are earning points that go into a single collective pool.
“NCAA Football 10” isn’t a huge step forward for the franchise, and many players will continue to wait for a game for this generation of
console that will make players want to play college football rather than professional NFL football. This is definitely a polished version of
last year’s game with some solid additions to the game. Though there are some flaws, this is one great football game that players will
be able to spend a lot of time with.
able to stand up against the Madden series, however this year brings a solid offering with “NCAA Football 10,” but it still isn’t anything
that will exceed player expectations.
For many players, the most important part of a sports game is the game play value. A large amount of what has changed in this year’s
game makes the game more accessible and in many cases a lot easier to play. One of the best additions to the game, the setup play,
also makes it more likely that players will win nearly every game. Setup plays are nothing new to the game of football and this new
function makes it all transparent in “NCAA Football 10.” While it is a nice little feature that many players might ignore, it is the
transparency that makes play calling more entertaining.
There are some other improvements to the game play, such as a brand new set of animations which help give players a better feel to
the game. There is more realistic actions this time around, even if the overall visuals haven’t changed much since last year. A lot of the
game play changes are very subtle and can be seen in as the AI adapts to the player’s play style, angles of attack are better and players
can actually see the pocket this time around. It is much more refined than last year’s release and one of Electronic Arts better football
game on the next generation console.
The one thing that hasn’t changed in this new release of the game is the fact that there is still a presence of bugs in the game. Players
will be able to see some players bounce around on the field at times. When players have the game randomize names for players, they
may end up with a player that has a number for a name, but that doesn’t seem too odd with today’s NFL players. These bugs come
and go, some players may experience them often, while others may never seen any bugs in the game. It is these issues that may
frustrate players a little bit, but it won’t be enough to pull hardcore fans away from the series.
There is one other major change this year in the game play that can’t be ignored. This year there is a “win” button on defense. If
players hold it down, their defender takes the proper position, and if the man he is covering blocks instead of running a route, the win
button knows to attack the running back. Another new option is Family Play, which simplifies offense and defense by removing all of the
complicated buttons and brings it down to a single button to almost every action in the game. If these options don’t help the player to be
successful in a game, there are plenty of other options that can be adjusted in order to quickly give players an edge to defeat the
computer opponent. Of course, any players that are looking for a challenge won’t want to worry themselves with these options, but
anyone that wants to begin training their children for the future of the NCAA Football series will appreciate these available adjustments.
The other two majors feature additions that are completely new to the series. They are great additions that players will want to see in
the future. TeamBuilder lets players create their own team. This is nothing new to sports games but players have a level customization
that goes above and beyond that of other games. This is all possible because of the fact that the teambuilding function was removed
from the console and put on the PC. This means that players have to access a free website in order to create their team, but doing this
is much easier than using the controller to create a team.
Players are also able to create their own custom logos for use in the game. Full uniform customization is also available, as well as the
ability to create any player they want. Create-A-Player is also build into the game and doesn’t require the use of a PC, but it is a lot
faster to type in names with a keyboard and navigates a PC menu than it is slowly building a player with a controller.
The other new feature is very exciting, Season Showdown Mode, which captures the passion of college football. Players get to pick one
team to be their team for an entire season. Players much pick wisely because once they pick there is no going back. Once a team has
been selected, players are part of a season long tournament to see which team can earn the most points. Whatever mode players play
in, they are earning points that go into a single collective pool.
“NCAA Football 10” isn’t a huge step forward for the franchise, and many players will continue to wait for a game for this generation of
console that will make players want to play college football rather than professional NFL football. This is definitely a polished version of
last year’s game with some solid additions to the game. Though there are some flaws, this is one great football game that players will
be able to spend a lot of time with.
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